Darin Ruf is back in the Phillies' lineup a day after homering off the Blue Jays' Esmil Rogers. Ruf will bat ninth and DH against Tigers left-hander Jose Alvarez in the Phils' third spring training game, which will be televised live on TCN at 1:05 p.m.
Bobby Abreu sits against the lefty. Abreu had gone 0-for-3 with four walks in the home-and-home series against Toronto.
The 2-7 spots in the Phillies' lineup appears to be the batting order Ryne Sandberg prefers. Ben Revere is replaced at the top by Tony Gwynn, Jr., but is followed by Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Marlon Byrd, Domonic Brown and Carlos Ruiz.
Maikel Franco starts at third base for left-handed hitter Cody Asche.
It is the spring debut for Kyle Kendrick, who won't have to face Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Torii Hunter or Ian Kinsler. It's a split squad game for the Tigers and most of the A-team is in Lakeland to play the Yankees.
Phillies lineup
1) Tony Gwynn Jr, CF
2) Jimmy Rollins, SS
3) Chase Utley, 2B
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Marlon Byrd, RF
6) Domonic Brown, LF
7) Carlos Ruiz, C
8) Maikel Franco, 3B
9) Darin Ruf, DH
Where did my post go? What I said was that it feels like they might be giving Franco an actual chance to make the roster. They've given him 2 starts, and 3 appearances, in the first 3 games.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:46 AM
So Mike Adams had discomfort in his throwing arm Monday but was assured by the Phillie's medical staff that he was alright, per MLBTR...
Posted by: AlexRosie | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:10 AM
Alex: He had discomfort throwing from flat ground, and was assured he was ok, yes.
He then proceeded to throw from a mound without discomfort.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:11 AM
If Adams throws more than 20 IP this year and/or doesn't end the year on the DL, I'll be stunned.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:26 AM
Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN)
Phillies announce that Ethan Martin will have MRI on shoulder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That escalated quickly.
Posted by: Dickie Thong | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:38 AM
If Adams throws more than 20 IP this year and it makes a difference in the Phillies' playoff chances, I'll be living in an alternate universe.
Posted by: Andy | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:39 AM
4) Ryan Howard, 1B
5) Marlon Byrd, RF
6) Domonic Brown, LF
Gotta break up those lefties!
Utley is a 3-hole hitter, and Ryan is a cleanup hitter (when he's going good), so that means Brown hits 6th.
Can't argue with logic.
Posted by: ramsey | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:40 AM
Why is it a foregone conclusion that Adams is cooked? He had a pretty consistent record of staying healthy prior to 2013.
Has he really fallen off the cliff?
Posted by: Will Schweitzer | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:41 AM
3) Chase Utley
4) Ryan Howard
always and forever... or at least until the next debilitating injury
Posted by: timr | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:42 AM
Byrd smoked LHP last year and even in '12 when his overall numbers were terrible he still put up a decent split vs LHP (.327/.353/.408) albeit with a very small SSS of 51 PAs.
3 of the last 4 years Byrd has had notably better numbers vs LHP.
I understand why Sandberg is very reluctant to answer any questions on he will handle Howard vs LHP. Potentially a very sensitive topic.
Hitting Howard 5th and Byrd 4th should be a no-brainer especially if Sandberg insists on putting JRoll-Utley-Howard together which is easy pickings nowadays for a LHP reliever specialist.
If Howard takes it as a real or perceived slight, too bad.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:46 AM
@timr: reminds me of this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHsna4Wx4k8
Posted by: Dickie Thong | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:48 AM
Blanton:
If the Angels were willing to trade him, eat almost all of his cost in return, and get basically a 'C' prospect in return, that is a move the Phils should make.
Blanton might not have much left but I have to think he would be a clear upgrade over the likes of Manship or O'Sullivan.
Basically at DEFCON 3 with their current level of pitching depth. Martin and Pettibone look like they will be added to the list of MIA for the year along side Morgan and there is basically nobody left on the 40-man roster that can start.
Grabbing at straws like Manship/O'Sullivan or moving a Rosenberg back to a starter role.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:50 AM
"Phillies announce that Ethan Martin will have MRI on shoulder."
The Phillies ordered an MRI. Next step: hospice care.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:58 AM
MG: I was thinking pretty much the same thing on Blanton. Is he a great pitcher? Of course not. But if he can be had for very little, the Phils are now desparate enough for a 5/6 SP that they need to seriously consider.
The only other options are to pick up one of the remaining FA 5th SP types on a MiLB deal, or *gulp* throw MAG into the fire.
Posted by: nokwurst | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:09 PM
So the Phillies upgraded their medical plan to one that includes MRI's.
This could be more significant than the Comcast deal or adding an analytics department,
What's next, teaching scouts to note whether a pitching prospect can throw strikes?
Posted by: Bubba | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:33 PM
SABR called for Martins MRI. The mph divided by feet traveled, and mulpitly that by 3.14.
Posted by: Coach Kent Murphy | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:42 PM
Dickie--great video!
I'm loving that we all have watched this team enough to know that an actual MRI is basically a death knell. On what other site is that such a point of consensus?
Posted by: timr | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:52 PM
Prediction: the Phillies' doctors will look at the MRI and decide that Martin just needs rest and rehabilitation. In June, he'll have Tommy John surgery.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:03 PM
No TCN where I am. Hoping someone gives a good blow by blow.
Posted by: CS | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:04 PM
They stand in a line for the national anthem real purdy.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:06 PM
PADMF
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:09 PM
Nice lazy bounce to 3rd on the 2nd pitch for an out. Most of his stuff moving down towards the plate, at least.
Franco made a diving attempt and slowed the ball down, but Rollins couldn't get to it in time to stop a single on the 3rd pitch of the second AB.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:09 PM
Very downward.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:10 PM
Having some trouble finding the zone in AB3.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:10 PM
Better on AB4. Nice, knee-high strikes that drop out hard.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:12 PM
Lost the zone again.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:13 PM
Like BAP, I'm encouraged that Franco appears to actually be getting a real chance early in ST. The lefty/righty dynamic between him and Asche helps. Would be nice if they'd hit him higher in the order, though, to get him more AB's. Lineup construction in Spring is probably the dumbest thing in the world to analyze, after the dating habits of the Kardashian clan.
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:15 PM
Our pitchers sure look sharp.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:17 PM
Having trouble remembering the object is to get outs without giving up runs......
Posted by: Bob | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:19 PM
Meh, I'm okay with Kendrick taking a shellacking in his first outing, just so long as it's because he's "tinkering with a few new things." If he's out there using his regular stuff and getting shelled by the Tigers B-Team, that's a different story.
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:22 PM
I see that the new "stat guy" hasn't yet permeated the actual broadcast in any way, shape or form, as they continue to exclusively display each batter's average, HR, and RBI counts from last season.
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:26 PM
Ruf with another RBI, poor guy.
Posted by: Allen Thornberg | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:47 PM
Amaro on pitching injuries: 'Anatomy is just anatomy'
Money quote from Amaro:
http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-philadelphia-phillies/amaro-pitching-injuries-anatomy-just-anatomy
Posted by: Dickie Thong | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:48 PM
thank god for the closed captioner, who typed "rouphage" for ruf.
Posted by: bullit | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:50 PM
Please fire Matt Stairs. Haven't we seen enough????
Posted by: Jeffrey | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:50 PM
its spring training for the closed captioners too you know.
Posted by: timr | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:52 PM
Ruf will look good under the new Bacon hat.
Posted by: Meyer | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:55 PM
I would imagine a number of the CC broadcasts have been automated to an extent by now. Speech-to-text is less than perfect, but probably they CC technicians let it run and then make corrections as necessary.
Sometimes they'll miss one.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:55 PM
"Our doctor (Michael Ciccotti) is the president of the doctors' association of Major League Baseball."
Because I am sure that the "Doctor's Association of Major League Baseball" is well-known for its innovation and cutting-edge research.
Posted by: Jack | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:58 PM
Howard not seeing the sinkers/changeups very well today.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:01 PM
Wow. A rare denial of the phantom tag in ST.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:06 PM
Feel like those were pretty typical last year. Good ABs by Brown that ultimately end with bad results.
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:06 PM
David Buchanan is interesting. He has real good stuff. He could be the pleasant surprise of spring training.
Posted by: Jeffrey | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:07 PM
Wow that pitch just came in never stopped.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:07 PM
WHOA
Right at Chooch's face!
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:08 PM
Jack you are a sad assho1e!
MG wants Blanton back? That is rich
Posted by: Reality | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:08 PM
Not gonna earn a roster spot walking in a situation like that
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:12 PM
CAST-EE-YAH-NOS.
Posted by: Tom McCarthy | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:12 PM
Ruf looking to hospitalize one of the Hooters girls there.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:13 PM
Also trying to kill some worms.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:15 PM
Ruf looking good. Liked the Franco AB. Howard looks like midseason form. Revised win total = 82
Posted by: nonamePHame | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:17 PM
Free mulligan.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:18 PM
TWO HANDS!
Posted by: nonamePHame | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:19 PM
Gwynn doing his even-more-Jimmy-than-Jimmy impression at the plate.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:19 PM
This is a spot they struggled last year. Jimmy can blow this game wide open here.
Posted by: nonamePHame | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:20 PM
That looked pretty fair.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:22 PM
There you go, Noname.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:23 PM
Ugh. Almost.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:24 PM
Reality er Philipper
Yeah compared to either O'Sullivan or Manship
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:25 PM
Like that JimJam, like that!
Posted by: nonamePHame | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:25 PM
Blown open!
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:25 PM
ageless james !!
Posted by: bullit | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:25 PM
Now there you go.
Nice plate discipline by Rollins this game.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:25 PM
I like O'Sullivan over Manship. They both have looked good early.
Posted by: nonamePHame | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:25 PM
I forgot. Was this guy the closer at AA or AAA?
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:26 PM
Man, Utley really never uses the 3-0 green light, huh?
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:27 PM
I just tuned in, and I know it's only Spring Training, but don't he cockles of your heart warm a little bit to see the Phils up 9-3 in the bottom of the 3rd?
Posted by: Juums | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:27 PM
He had 20 starts at AAA and 3 starts at SD and 4 out of the pen.
Posted by: Wayne from PA in Nebraska | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:39 PM
O'Sullivan is actually moderately intriguing, at least insofar as a 6th starter is capable of being intriguing. He's 26, had a huge uptick in Ks at AAA last year (though it didn't carry over to the majors), and gave the Padres 3 respectable games in 3 starts last year.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:40 PM
Hey, Sandberg, when is the team gonna score 10 runs?
Posted by: Howard Eskin | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:41 PM
MG er moron- who is Phlipper?
Also- you just want Blanton back so you can dump all over him. You are a transparent douche
Posted by: Reality | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:41 PM
No thanks on Blanton. He was hard to watch when he was just below average. I could imagine a paid attendance of about 10 people on days when he'd pitch if they brought him back.
In fact, though we know early ST games mean very little, the handful best pitchers on the Phillies so far have to include Manship and O'Sullivan. It certainly won't remain that way, but it's nice to see that the two guys we've voted most likely to be playing in the Mexican Winter league some time in early May are actually looking like something other than garbage.
Posted by: aksmith | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:52 PM
That was some terrible shortstopsmanship.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 02:59 PM
"I just tuned in, and I know it's only Spring Training, but don't he cockles of your heart warm a little bit to see the Phils up 9-3 in the bottom of the 3rd?"
Not until Clout Day. C'mon!
Posted by: timr | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:06 PM
Does Clout Day come early this year?
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:09 PM
As someone who's still relatively new to Beerleaguer, I don't even know what Clout Day is. If the commenters of BL do decamp for greener pastures, it ought to be somewhere that has an on-site Wiki for tracking site-specific memes and references.
Posted by: Juums | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:12 PM
Juums: I imagine that could be organized here. Complete with term links using href tags, for ease of use.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:15 PM
Clout Day I believe is March 20.
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:18 PM
clout day is Mar 20th...the time results start mattering because most of the chaff has already been sent to minor league camp so they're facing legitimate competition.
Posted by: NEPP | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:19 PM
@Juums
Clout Day is the day when Spring Training Statistics begin to mean something and are worth talking about, according to something Clout said many moons ago.
Not sure if it dealt with small sample size or less AAA and AA players in camp or what.
Posted by: Shane | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:22 PM
clout day is the best day of the year!
Posted by: nonamePHame | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:24 PM
@Shane
Clout made this up many years ago, so it would be many suns ago, not moons.
Posted by: NCPhilly | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:24 PM
Gelb says MAG is no longer starting tomorrow.
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:25 PM
clout day is the day when you're allowed to start commenting on spring training performance. The idea is that, early in ST, pitchers aren't relying on their full arsenals, hitters don't have their timing down, and the bulk of the innings are being given to AAA roster fodder. by clout day, that has all changed and you're allowed to declare that Fausto Carmona sucks. Until then, you must assume that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation, which has nothing to do with his sucking, for why he's giving up 5 runs every time he pitches.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:25 PM
Much like Brad Lidge, MG wished Blanton away and almost immediately regretted it because it took away one of his whipping boys.
The fact that he's advocated bringing him back is one of the funniest things I've ever read on this site, knowing the context.
Posted by: Iceman | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:29 PM
MAG's health is the second biggest mystery surrounding any Phillies player in spring training. The No. 1 mystery is: how the hell did Clete Thomas manage to get 322 major league PAs last year?
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:30 PM
Didn't read it, but the headline of this Good Phight article made me laugh.
http://www.thegoodphight.com/2014/2/28/5456280/phillies-early-strength-of-schedule-key-to-success
"Phillies Early Strength of Schedule Key To Success"
Didn't BL post a header about the Phillies taking advantage of the easy April schedule last year?
Posted by: Cyclic | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:32 PM
Glad to see that Moyer and Stairs haven't impacted the eerily creepy obsession that TBag has with the Philly Phanatic. Feels like midseason already!
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:32 PM
***
Gelb says MAG is no longer starting tomorrow.
***
Yeah, he's never going to pitch in meaningful games for us.
Posted by: NEPP | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:38 PM
I thought this was interesting, you'd think this is the kind of thing the Phillies would send their new analytics guy to. Also interesting to note that Sixers, Eagles, and Flyers all sent a representative.
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/Phillies_notable_no-shows_for_analytics_convention.html
Posted by: WSJ | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:39 PM
I am totally rooting for Lou Marson to beat out Wil Nieves, though I realize that Nieves' guaranteed contract ensures that there's almost no chance of it actually happening.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:40 PM
DeFratus looked good (albeit against the end-of-bench scrubs on the Tigers "B-Team").
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 03:55 PM
Iceman - Do you think Manship or O'Sullivan are better than Blanton at say $850k-$1M and basically a 'C' prospect/org filler?
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:02 PM
Sean O'Sullivan: Real deal or luck of the Irish?
Posted by: clout | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:05 PM
MG - That's beside the point. The point is that you bashed Blanton constantly while he was here. Now you are advocating bringing him back.
Posted by: Redburb | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:07 PM
If the situation changes as far as what Blanton costs and how badly the rotation lacks depth now, isn't it okay for someone to hold a different opinion than they did about Blanton the first time he was here? Or do we always have to have the same opinion about a player throughout his career? If thats the case we all better be psyched to see Abreu here, because at one point in the past most of us liked him.
Posted by: timr | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:12 PM
Posted by aksmith at 2:52:
No thanks on Blanton. He was hard to watch when he was just below average. I could imagine a paid attendance of about 10 people on days when he'd pitch if they brought him back.
Does Blanton have that much family still left in the area? I wouldn't pay to watch him pitch.
Posted by: Kashmir | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:40 PM
Redburb - No isn't relevant.
The question is whether Blanton is better than the internal options the Phils have right now and will early in the season?
He may be a pitching midget but it is the 'tallest midget' analogy among the candidates the Phils currently have available.
Imagine they are going to wait a bit to see what happens with Hamels, Pettibone, Martin, and MAG though before possibly making a trade/signing someone who shakes loose in spring training.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:43 PM
So what exactly would be a acceptable AVG for Hernadez to bat in order to be a back up 2B. Still a work in progress but maybe a acceptable fielder. Of course trying to make him a Jack of All Trades is a tremendous help..Sike!
Posted by: PLM | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:44 PM
"Amaro defended his team’s handling of pitchers and their arms.
“I love what our guys do medically and what we do to prevent injuries -- our stretching program, our routine,” he said. “It’s anatomy. You can’t do much about it.
“We do as good a preventive job as anybody. We’re probably one of the most state-of-the-art, medically sound organizations in baseball. Our doctor (Michael Ciccotti) is the president of the doctors' association of Major League Baseball.
“It started way back with [former athletic trainer] Jeff Cooper, as far as us being as up to speed and advanced as we possibly can. Our stretching program, our strengthening program, the things that we do for the shoulder, the studies we’ve done on elbows and stuff -- our guys are on top of it.
“Sometimes anatomy is just anatomy. What are you going to do? You can’t do anything about it, other than try to prevent it. If the guy breaks, he breaks.”
Does anyone really think as long as Amaro is in charge the Phils will change a damn thing in the way they do things from top-down?
Give him crediting for speaking to the media regularly but man he often doesn't do himself any favors.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 05:02 PM